


Rescue Me

by ddagent



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Kissing, Swimming, Swimming Pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3316139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After taking up a lifeguard training course to improve her college application, Melinda has fun practising her life saving skills with her partner Phil. Written for the 'Education, Education, Education' challenge at Philinda AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rescue Me

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Agents of SHIELD or any of its characters, or settings - all belongs to Marvel and ABC.
> 
> So an Anon prompted No.10 from our prompt list, which was: "They’re partners on a lifeguard training course which means plenty of mouth to mouth practice." I volunteered to take up this one, and I had an absolute *ton* of fun writing this. I hope you all enjoy it!

It had been a decision negotiated between her and her mother. College applications looked for sections like this; extracurricular activities that went beyond  _getting into fights after school_ and  _able to pick a lock when you lose your keys at 3am._ Her mother was still bitter that she'd dropped ballet before high school, stopped learning the violin when she was twelve.  _Track and gymnastics aren't enough_ , she said.  _You need something else_. 

 

Lifeguard training was the only thing they had managed to agree upon. 

 

Wearing a black one piece with her dark hair tied behind her, Melinda stood in line and stared into the bottom of the pool. She had always enjoyed swimming, having fallen in love with the breast stroke during her summer’s obsession with frogs. After her father’s passing she had taken to swimming on her own, just like running. If the team practices hadn’t clashed with her responsibilities on the Track team, she might have competed in the pool too. There was just something so soothing about being in the water. 

 

Her instructor, a small man with thinning hair, wasn't nearly as soothing. His gaze swept over all of them, but seemed to rest quite uncomfortably on her. It made her skin break out into goose bumps. "Okay, kids, today we're going to practice our life saving skills! First exercise is in pairs. Go ahead and pick your partners." 

 

Out of the eight assembled teenagers, there were only three that Melinda would consider partnering with. As Victoria had already closed the gap between her and Isabelle, that left Phil Coulson to the side of her. "What about it, Coulson?" 

 

The high school senior nodded, arms wrapped tight across his bare chest. "Sure, absolutely. We can be partners."

 

"Great."

 

They stood close together by the side of the pool, Phil's bare elbow brushing against hers. She hadn't had much to do with Coulson at school, knew him mostly from History class and the basketball court. He was sweet, always polite, and had given her quite a race on the track one or two times. But wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks, Melinda was seeing him in a whole new light. His arms and chest were quite defined: Coulson was certainly more muscular than he would have you believe. He’d always been cute. But now he’d jumped the scale to _hot._

 

"Okay, now we're in pairs, here's what we're going to do. One of you is going to jump in, swim out a little bit and pretend to drown. The other one of you is going to jump in and bring them to the side, just like I showed you last week. Okay? That clear? Who wants to be first?" 

 

Harmony, a blonde senior whose boyfriend was also taking the course, threw up her hand. "We'll go first! It'll be great practice for the spring musical."

 

Melinda watched as the blonde jumped into the pool and proceeded to drown with as much authenticity as a bad high school actress could muster. Her boyfriend, all lean muscles and waterproof hair, jumped in after her. They made a little too much of her 'rescue' for Melinda's tastes. 

 

"God, can't he wait forty five minutes before sticking his tongue down her throat?" Phil was frowning as he focussed on the ceiling tiles rather than the display in the water. His blue eyes dropped to his bare feet when he realised she was watching him. "Sorry."

 

Melinda smirked. "Don't apologise, I was just thinking the same thing. So, do you feel like drowning first or do you want me to?"

 

He snorted, breaking out into a little smile. The simple act made his eyes brighten. "I can drown first. I should warn you, I played a very convincing tree in my third grade production."

 

Melinda had to bury her snort in the back of her hand. The instructor looked over, his beady eyes sharpening on the two of them. "I think we're next."

 

“I think you’re right.”

 

Sure enough, the instructor cocked his finger in their direction. Phil gave her a smile before he jumped into the water. He pushed a few strokes out before diving underneath the surface. Melinda counted off a few seconds before she dove in after him. Underneath the water he was still smiling, only thrashing his arms around when she came closer. 

 

Slipping one arm around his body, Melinda began to bring them to the surface. As they broke through, they both took a deep gasp of air. She turned to Phil, checking that he was okay. Water droplets were clinging to his face, running down onto his chest. Refocusing her priorities, Melinda swam them both to the edge of the pool. She helped Phil up the ladder first, smiling as he reached down a hand to help her up.

 

“Thank you for the rescue,” Phil said as he pulled her up onto the side of the pool. “However can I thank you?”

 

“I’m sure you’ll return the favour soon enough.”

 

They shared a smirk, Melinda enjoying their gentle flirtation as they walked back to the side with the others. When it came her turn to drown, she may have clung onto Coulson a little tighter than she was supposed to. Her partner didn't seem to mind. 

 

\--

 

"Okay, our third and final exercise today is going to be CPR. I know some of you have your first aid certificates, and that's great." Melinda had signed up for the course freshman year. She'd wanted to be able to fix up her own wounds. "But we're going to go over the basics of mouth to mouth resuscitation today. If you're comfortable with the partners you have, that's fine. If you want to switch, that's okay too."

 

No one wanted to switch. Melinda looked over at Coulson, suddenly realising that she was going to be pressing her lips to his. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem. Any other day she could handle this professionally. But there was just this _energy_ running through them today that made Melinda want to bend the rules, press the boundaries. It was an urge she really should control.

 

"One of you, get down at the side of the pool."

 

As Coulson had ‘drowned’ first, he became the first victim. He lay down at the side of the pool, his head resting against one of the flotation devices. Melinda dropped down beside him, left hand balancing her weight as she leant over his body.

 

“Please be gentle, it’s my first time.”

 

Melinda resisted the urge to smack that chest of his. "Of course. Now hold still, you're supposed to be unconscious."

 

The instructor reeled off the procedures for chest compressions, although Melinda was already aware of her hand placement. She proceeded with the next stage, lifting Coulson's chin with two fingers. His mouth was already open, his fingers twitching as they lay across his stomach. Melinda softly squeezed the tip of his nose before closing the gap between them. Her ponytail was hanging down; dark strands brushing his bare shoulder. 

 

"Now, seal their mouth with yours."

 

Melinda had practised this on a CPR doll during her last course, not a human subject. It felt different with Phil's lips under hers; cold and wet from their time in the pool. She blew into his mouth as instructed, trying not to focus on how good his mouth felt. As Melinda pulled away, Phil's bottom lip caught hers in the barest of kisses. 

 

"Sorry."

 

Phil’s eyes were downcast, his mouth curled into a frown like he was dismayed by his actions. Before Melinda could say anything to try and appease him, the instructor called out again. "Okay, now I want you all to switch places. And Tim, try not to use so much  _tongue_ this time. Frenching your life saving victim won't help if this is a real emergency."

 

Melinda smirked first, Phil joining in as they switched places. Now Phil was hovering over her, his chest close enough to touch. She couldn’t help herself. Fingertips ghosted over damp skin, trying hard to keep to safe areas. When she looked back up at her partner, his eyes were as dark as a winter storm.

 

"Sorry." 

 

"Don't be," Phil said, his head leaning over hers. "I'm having a little trouble with that myself."

 

"With what, exactly?"

 

He smiled; his touch gentle as he went through the motions of pinching her nose. "Keeping my hands to myself."

 

“Maybe you shouldn’t.”

 

Lifesavers didn't close their eyes when they gave CPR. Nor were their mouths so closed as they breathed life into the other person. Instead of air, Melinda felt the flicker of Phil's tongue against her lips. It was warm and so very inviting, and Melinda had to dig her nails into her palms to stop her threading her fingers through Phil’s damp hair. This was not the right place for a first kiss, yet Melinda didn’t want him to stop.

 

"Coulson, I think you need some help with your technique!"

 

Melinda grinned, holding down a giggle as Phil pushed back from their embrace. The whole class was watching him now, the back of his neck turning pink under their attention. "I'm sorry. I think I know what I did wrong, though. Do you mind if I have another go?" 

 

“By all means.”

 

The instructor was watching them intently this time, and for their second attempt Coulson's mouth was perfectly sealed over hers. Melinda did allow her fingers to wander. As Coulson pulled away for them to switch places once more, her fingers were resting quite comfortably on the nape of his neck. 

 

\--

 

Another shower at home would help to wash the chlorine out of her hair. Melinda ran a brush through the strands as she stepped out of the locker room, trying to unknot the tangles from another afternoon in the pool. Grimacing, she dumped the brush in her bag. Maybe it was a good idea she hadn't joined the swim team. She'd be spending most of her allowance on conditioner rather than saving up for the motorcycle she wanted. 

 

As she turned the corner, Melinda saw that Coulson was waiting. He was slumped against the wall, hands shoved into his pockets. As her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, he suddenly looked up and started to make himself presentable. In the end he just grinned sheepishly at her.

 

"Hi, Melinda."

 

Hey, Coulson." She adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag as she fell in line with him. "You waiting for someone?"

 

"You, actually." Phil's hands were tight on his own bag, occasionally dipping down to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans. "I had fun today. I liked working with you.”

 

She smiled. “I liked working with you too. We should do it next week.”

 

"Yeah, absolutely.”

 

They continued to walk through the emptying pool towards the front doors. Melinda's mother was no doubt waiting to pick her up, trying to decrease the chances that her delinquent daughter would get into another fight. Coulson had his own car, a beaten up corvette with a large dent in one door. If her mother wouldn't have been waiting for her, Melinda would have been tempted to ask him to drive her home. She _had_ enjoyed today. She enjoyed the idea of further practice too.  

 

"You know, the instructor's right. Your technique does need work." Melinda dug into her bag, reaching for a scrap of paper. She scribbled her phone number down before holding it out to him. "If you ever want to improve, give me a call sometime."

 

Phil took her phone number, grinning at the sliver of paper. "Is this for life saving skills or-"

 

"I was thinking more making out in a car sometime. If you're interested."

 

"I'll call you tonight."

 

Melinda had no doubt in her mind that he would. Phil held the door open for her as they left the pool; lips close but not almost brushing as she passed. Her mother looked at her disapprovingly through the car wind shield. On the outside, Coulson was the sort of boy Lian May would approve of. He was heading for an Ivy League college, with a whole host of activities under his belt. But Phil was a lot more like her than appearances would suggest. 

 

She just hoped that the next extracurricular activity she shared with Phil was as fun as today’s was. Melinda had a feeling that it would be. 


End file.
